Dragons' Dawn
by Transhumandream
Summary: "And now it begins." "No. Now it ends." After sixteen years of blissful isolation, House Dayne is again drawn into the game of thrones. Can they survive the dragons' dawn, or will they, like so many before them, be destroyed by fire and blood? AU in which Arthur Dayne survives Robert's Rebellion.


_A/N: So this is my first ASOIAF fic. The novels mention the Daynes quite a lot, and I can't help but wonder how the story would have gone had the fight at the Tower of Joy gone differently. This story will start in roughly the same time frame as AGOT, but will have some flashbacks, both large and small._

_Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended. A Song of Ice and Fire and all other used materials belong to their respective owners. I make no money from this fanfiction._

_Thanks for reading and please review._

Chapter 1: A Sword in the Morning

Streams of sunlight had begun to appear above the rocky peaks of the Red Mountains of Dorne. The soft light pierced through the warm air of the Dornish summer, brining the desert country once more out of its cool night and into the heat of day. It cascaded over the orange and lemon groves that surrounded the castle of Starfall. However, the beauty of the castle that loomed above it easily overpowered the impressive color pallet of the gardens. Starfall was a large castle, composed entirely of pale sandstone. In the early hours of the morning, the castle appeared purely white, not unlike the falling comet for which it was named.

Above this unmarred splendor rose the Palestone Sword, Starfall's tallest tower. The tower was old but strong. It had weathered near countless years of war and peace, standing as a testament both to the castle's beauty and strength. Today, as on most days, the tower stood empty, save for the sole person that occupied it so early in the day.

The young man stood on the tower's roof, observing the beauty of the desert dawn. He rested one foot on a battlement stone, long since eroded past its intended shape. The man's lilac eyes scanned the horizon, taking in the scene before him. Rarely did the stunning emergence of the dawn unfold without his bearing witness. The man loved the quiet and peace of the morning. It was the one time during the day when he could clear his mind and enjoy the rare silence.

Sweeping his light brown hair from his face, Darren Dayne smiled. Today was an important day. The morning offered the last true peace he would witness for a while. As the sun completed its ascent, and the world returned to normal, Darren reluctantly lifted himself from his former position and made his way over the side of the tower. Slowly placing his feet below him onto the long memorized handholds, he began to climb. Carefully, he placed hand over foot until he came to the highest window of the tower. Swinging himself in without much thought, Darren landed in the guardroom with a sturdy thud. The young man dusted off his hands, and made his way towards the stairs.

Darren quickly climbed down the stairs. He needed to hurry, if he was to be on time. After all, this day was, he thought, his first chance to meet a prince. Weeks ago, he recalled, his father and aunt had called him out of the yards after training with Edwyn Sand and Quentyn Martell.

Sand was Starfall's old master-at-arms. He had served with the Daynes since he was a young man. Constantly refusing offers of Knighthood, Edwyn had elected to keep his bastard name and stay in Starfall. 'I would rather teach men how to save lives for a lord I know than take lives for a lord I've never met,' was his response when Darren had inquired why he always chose to stay. Sand was a good man. Now nearing fifty, he was strong and wise, always letting the boys make the first move with whatever weapon he was teaching them, but showing them the error of their ways when they were too aggressive or foolish.

Quentyn Martell was the oldest son of Doran Martell, the ruling Prince of Dorne. The young man, who was of an age with Darren, had come to Starfall when he was two and ten to serve as Arthur Dayne's squire. At first, Quentyn was unhappy with being sent to the pale castle. It was widely known that Darren's father kept to himself, and would rarely, if ever, leave his own lands. This was, understandably, not the best of circumstances for an aspiring knight. There was little chance of Quentyn ever receiving a knighthood for bravery while squiring for a Dayne. However, Quentyn's father had been insistent, and the boy had followed his wishes and come.

Quentyn's outlook had quickly changed when he and Darren had meet. The boys had quickly become friends. Both boys showed an affinity for arms and exploration. Rarely were they seen out of one another's company. They were always sparring, climbing, or racing each other. Both were constantly trying to out do one another, and either had yet to achieve such an aim.

On this particular day, Edwyn had allowed each boy to spar with the weapon of his choice. 'You aren't going to always be fighting a man you uses the same weapon as you,' the old man had instructed. Quentyn had chosen a war spear, the favored weapon of his uncle, Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper. Darren had elected to use a long sword. While the weapon did not have the reach of Arthur Dayne's favored great sword, Darren appreciated the freedom of an empty hand. He needed the extra agility if he was going to beat an opponent whose spear offered superior reach to anything he might have offered.

Darren and Quentyn took their positions in the training yard. Edwyn stood off to the side and stoutly yelled, 'Begin.' The two boys circled around one another. To the unfamiliar observer, it might have appeared that the opponents were observing one another, attempting to identify weaknesses. However, Darren and Quentyn had sparred so regularly for such a long time, they knew the other's weaknesses and habits as well as they knew their own. They were simply waiting to see who would spring first.

Darren had grown impatient. He was tired of waiting for Quentyn to begin his assault. Darren stopped circling and lunged towards Quentyn, trying to get inside the reach of his spear. The other boy smiled though, prepared for the move. He swung the back end of his twelve-foot spear around and tried to smash Darren in the head with the blunted wooden end. Darren managed to block the strike with the flat of his blade, continuing to try to get close enough to strike the Martell. Quentyn was forced to step back. Now using the blunt iron point of the spear, he stabbed several times at the young Dayne.

Darren stepped back, wary of the war spear. It would not kill him, but his friend could easily break Darren's ribs. Darren slid to his left as the spear shot past him, missing his right shoulder by nearly an inch. Thrown of balance by his opponent's sudden evasion, Quentyn barely brought his spear up fast enough to block Darren's blade. Nevertheless, the long sword's arc carried enough power behind it to snap the spear in half.

Edwyn Sand groaned in annoyance. That was the third spear the boys had broken in a month. Darren smiled at the sound of his teacher being upset. He would get yelled at for doing that. Directing his attention back to the spar, Darren frowned. While he had limited his friend's reach, he now had to contend with two weapons. The two boys began to trade blows, neither able to gain an advantage. Quentyn's newly made staff and short spear repelled every attack that Darren threw. At the same time, every slash and stab that Quentyn pressed, Darren easily danced away from.

As the spar pressed on, Darren began to tire. He needed to finish the fight soon. Suddenly, he stopped pressing foreword and allowed Quentyn to swing at him. Darren feinted a block, but at the last second before the spear made contact, the young Dayne ducked. Fixing the flat of his blade to his knees, Darren tucked into a summersault. Using the last of his energy, the boy sprung to his feet and turned. Quentyn had begun to spin towards him. It was now or never.

Darren reached up and kicked in the back of Quentyn's left knee. With a yelp, the Martell dropped to the ground. When he flipped onto his back, he was met with the point of Darren's long sword poised just above his face. 'Yield,' Darren said out of breath.

'Yield,' Quentyn agreed. As soon as the words left his throat, Darren removed his sword and offered a hand to his friend. Quentyn reached out and took it. Darren lifted his friend to his feet and grinned smugly at him. Quentyn sighed and shook his head. 'Next time you wont get so lucky Dayne,' the young Martell said, his voice full of mock seriousness.

'Next time don't fall for a stupid trick Martell,' Darren laughed.

'Next time don't break the damn spear boy,' Edwyn yelled, overhearing the exchange. The two boys looked at the old master-at-arms and burst out laughing, both expecting the remark. 'When you two are done making an old man miserable, Edwyn said, with a shred of mirth in his own eyes, 'go put away the weapons and get cleaned up. Lord Dayne wants to see the both of you.'

Darren shared a curious glance with the boy who might have been his brother and nodded. The two went to the arms house to store Darren's sword and remove the head from Quentyn's now useless spear. The two splashed some water on their faces and hands and made their way towards Arthur Dayne's solar. Arthur Dayne, the lord of Starfall and Darren's father, maintained his solar in the Heaven's Keep. One of the larger buildings in Starfall, the Keep had been standing since the castle had been built in the Age of Heroes.

The two boys entered the building, passing through sandstone hallways filled with tapestries of the heroic deeds of the Daynes of old. After climbing several flights of stairs, the friends found themselves at a large wooden door on the top level. Darren knocked twice and received a prompt, 'Enter.'

As Darren and Quentyn entered the room, they were immediately assaulted by sunlight. Unlike most of the keep, which was constructed out of pure sandstone, the lord's solar was filled with large glass windows that reached from roof to floor. In the center of room, stood two people around a desk covered in messy papers and used inkwells. The person to the left of the desk was a woman. She was tall, with proud lilac eyes and fair skin. At three and thirty years, Ashara Dayne had reached the peak of her beauty, with ash blonde hair that fell to her waist. She was arrayed in a light silk dress that reached her ankles. Her image was only marred by a somber expression that changed into a familiar smile as she saw her nephew and ward enter.

Next to her stood a man who could have been her double. Arthur Dayne had the same lilac eyes and ash blonde hair that was customary of house Dayne. At six-one, he was of a height with his sister. He wore a knee length white tunic over similarly colored breaches, with the purple star and sword of the Dayne's displayed on the right side of his chest. Glancing up from his desk, his worried frown too turned into a warm smile as he addressed his son and squire, 'Hello son, Quentyn.'

'Hello father, aunt Ashara,' Darren said with a respectful bow to the two of them.

'Lord and lady Dayne,' Quentyn followed, mirroring his friend's greeting. Ashara smiled at the two but did not say anything, allowing her brother to speak first.

'Rise,' the lord of Starfall commanded. After the two were standing upright, Arthur continued. 'You two must be curious as to why I called you here. Maester Evart received a raven this morning from Sunspear. In two weeks time, Prince Oberyn and Princess Arianne are to make the trip into the mountains to meet with us.' Quentyn smiled, pleased that he would get to see his sister and uncle again. However, Darren's expression darkened. He held no ill will towards the Martell's, but was confused as to why the Red Viper would travel across all of Dorne just to visit the Daynes. As far as Darren knew, Oberyn was not close with any of his family. It was possible they were coming to see Quentyn, but it was extremely unusual that they would come to him rather than the other way around. Seeing his son's confusion, the lord of Starfall continued, 'The letter didn't clarify as to the reason for the visit. If it was just the Prince, I would say it was just Oberyn being himself. The man does wander quite a lot, but with Princess Arianne in his company, I don't know.' His face betrayed him though. Darren could see that his father knew more than he was letting on.

After taking a moment to observe the troubled faces of the two boys, Ashara frowned and said, 'Arthur there is no need to make the boys concerned. They are probably coming to visit Quentyn. I'm sure that his uncle and sister are eager to see him after four years.' She directed her gaze to the young Martell and smiled warmly. 'Come Quentyn, there is much to prepare for our guests. You'll need a new tunic befitting a prince, and I'm sure your uncle will be eager to spar with you. We'll need to get you a new spear apparently,' she said not unkindly, looking at her nephew. Darren smirked but said nothing. Ashara gave her brother one last look before leading Quentyn towards the door.

As the two left the room, Darren looked at his father expectantly, knowing he had more to say. After the door closed, Arthur dropped the expression that Darren's cousin Edric always called the 'Lord Dayne Face'. His face softened as he regarded his son. After a short silence, Darren asked, 'You know why the Martells are coming don't you father?'

Arthur nodded to his son, 'I have my suspicions. If Arianne is coming, it is most likely as a representative of her father. Oberyn traveling alone would not be unusual, but if Doran has a voice in whatever their reasons are, this is like to be important.'

Darren nodded and carefully considered his next question, 'So… what would you have me do?' Arthur smiled fondly at his son.

'Be yourself and you'll be fine' he said. 'Just, don't beat Quentyn too badly in the training yard. It wouldn't do to embarrass the prince in front of the Red Viper,' he finished with a smirk on his face.

'Of course not father,' Darren said, his expression mirroring his father's. 'Is there anything else?' Arthur frowned, looked down at his desk, and shook his head. He again meets Darren's eyes. He looked as if there was more that he needed to say, but he simply replied, 'No son. Go find your aunt. I'm sure she'll want to discuss some of the more practical preparations of this visit with you.'

'Are you sure there isn't anything else father,' Darren asked. His father looked as if something had shaken him to his core.

'No, that's all son.' Arthur Dayne looked tired, as if a great burden had just been placed on his shoulders. Reluctantly, Darren turned and left his father's solar. As he shut the door, he heard his father mutter '…may the gods help me if Oberyn is here for the reason I think.'

Darren snapped back to the present. He had hardly noticed the walk to his room as he remembered what had happened two weeks ago. His aunt Ashara had ordered the boys new tunics and he had yet to change. The castle was buzzing with activity now that the sun had risen. Darren slipped inside his room, quickly undressing and splashing some cool water onto his face. He quickly dressed in his new silk tunic and took a final look into his washroom's looking glass. Darren was neither tall nor short. At six feet, he was nearly as tall as his father. The boy was lean and strong from years of training and climbing. His shaggy, light brown hair hung low in his lilac eyes. He wore a white silk tunic that reached his knees, overlapping with trousers that hung to his mid calf, where they met light leather boots.

Not finding any clothing out of place, Darren made his way to the crowd that was already gathering at the front of the castle. The Daynes were lined up beside each other in front of their household. Darren's father stood in the middle, with his aunt at his left. To Arthur's right stood Darren's younger cousin Edric Dayne and Quentyn Martell. Edric was two and ten, standing shorter than both Darren and Quentyn. Darren's cousin shared his own coloring, also possessing light brown hair and lilac eyes. Quentyn was in a red and yellow silk tunic; his dark skin and square jaw making him look brooding in the shade cast by the Palestone Sword.

Darren made his way between his father and Edric. His young cousin smirked at him, "Cutting a bit close aren't we," he asked in a teasing voice.

"Shut it Ned," Darren replied not unkindly. Darren quickly glanced at his father, who seemed not to hear the exchange. His eyes were glued squarely to the open gates of Starfall. As Darren placed his own gaze there, he began to make out the beat of Dornish drums, announcing the arrival of the prince's party. The party then began to poor inside the castle's pale walls. After the scouts and escorts came in, a man of about forty years rode in beside a woman who was closer to five and twenty. Darren stared at the woman. She was beautiful, with dark skin, black hair that reached her waist, and big brown eyes. She glanced knowingly at him, a not unkind smirk plastered across her face.

Darren blushed and looked instead towards the man at the woman's left. The man dismounted and made his was straight for Darren's father. The Daynes and the rest of the crowd knelt to their knees in a graceful bow. The man, who Darren guessed was the prince, gestured up with his hand. Seeing the gesture, Arthur Dayne stood. The man, now grinning, said, "Well… If it isn't the famous Sword of the Morning."


End file.
